Lessons Learned

By

NV Oracle

Chapter 4

Horatio and Calleigh made their way to the hospital. They stepped off the elevator, and noticed Dr Fitzgerald at the nurse's station.

"Doctor Fitzgerald, how's Stevie?" Horatio asked before Calleigh could.

The blonde headed doctor turned to them. "Right now, he's holding his own, but he's developed an infection. His temperature has evened out to 103.5, but that's only partially why I called both of you."

When the two police officers looked at each other, puzzled, the doctor was just barely able to hold the laughter in. "Lt, you are the first and only person, other than his mother to be able to get past the boy's defenses. I'm going to need your help to get this temp down. I've been able, just barely, to talk him into an anti-biotic to kill the infection, but anytime any one of the nurses attempts to help cool him off, he puts up a fight. I'm hoping he will drop that façade for you." The doctor was not surprised to see the red head duck in embarrassment.

"I'll try, Doctor."

"I know you will, Lt and I appreciate it." The Doctor turned to Calleigh. "I will need your help, Ms Duquesne, with his mother. When I originally called her, far too early this morning, we initially just had a small spike in his temperature, now, of course, that small spike has grown, and she refuses to leave his side until it does go down. She's had nothing to eat, and won't take anything, unless he's awake and watching. She will, then of course, so that he won't worry about her."

The two CSI's traded looks. "We understand what the problem is, Doctor." Horatio told the man. "Please give us, just about 5 minutes, then come into his room. Whatever you do, don't tell either of them that you've called us, deal?"

The blonde doctor cracked a grin. "Deal."

The red head turned to his shorter companion. "Do you want to go first or should I?"

She thought on that a minute. "You probably should. That way, she will leave, without worrying about if he'll be ok by himself or not."

Horatio nodded. "Ok. Give me 3 or 4 minutes, then come in. Whatever you do, make it seem like we've come independently of each other." When the blonde woman nodded, Horatio turned and walked toward Stevie's hospital room. He got there just in time to hear an unfamiliar female voice say.

"Stevie, c'mon. Let me do this. You'll feel better trust me."

"No, go away. Leave me alone. I'm telling you, I'm fine." The youngster argued.

Horatio cracked a grin, and let out a sigh, just as he turned into the boy's room. He noticed a nurse standing by Stevie's bed, next to the boy's mother, as well as a couple of different machines that had not been there the previous night. Walking up to the other side of the bed, he forced cheerfulness into his voice, as he asked. "Hey, Stevie. How're you doing, partner?"

The boy's eyes, which had been closed, now snapped open. "Hey, Lt. You're here kind of early."

The red head chuckled. "It's not that early, partner. I was coming by to see how you were doing and to see if you needed anything. I did also have a couple of questions I needed to ask you, as well as get some information from your Mom." He tilted his head toward Jessica, and was pleased to see a quick grin. When he turned back to Stevie, he also noticed that the boy had several EKG sensors on his body that he had not had the night before. He traded a quick look with the Nurse, whose eyes went wide in recognition.

"I suppose Doctor Fitz told you about the infection, and my fever, didn't he?" The boy asked.

"Actually, no, he didn't." Horatio replied. "When did this happen?" He motioned to the boy's body.

Stevie looked confused. "You mean my EKG?" When the red head nodded, he explained. "This morning. Apparently, the infection got a quick hold because of all the 'trauma' I've experienced recently." The boy framed the word in quotes. "As a result, it was able to attack everything all at once, including my heart. Doctor Fitz just wanted to make sure that nothing else weird happened."

"No. We don't want anything else to happen." The red head agreed.

The nurse attempted to wipe the boy's face and chest down again, but he brushed her hand away. "Nancy, I told you, leave me alone." He reminded her impatiently.

"Stevie, you might feel better." His Mom tried to remind the boy gently.

"Yeah, well, every time she does that, I get sleepy and dopey headed." The boy argued.

"I'll be right back. I need to check his chart for something." The nurse, Nancy, hurriedly excused herself. She moved out of the room as seemingly innocently as possible.

Horatio watched her go with a puzzled look on his face. He and Jessica traded confused looks, as Jessica moved toward the basin. "Mrs Douglas, wait. Don't touch that." He stopped her, sharply.

He hurried over to that side of the bed, and leaned over to sniff the water. He made a face at something in the water, then turned back to Mrs Douglas. That smells like chloroform. How much did she use? "Do Not let him go to sleep, Mrs Douglas. Keep him awake." He moved toward the door, just as Calleigh walked in. "Calleigh, come with me, please, I need you as back up."

That confused the blonde. "Sure, Handsome. What's up?"

"I'm not sure. Hold on a minute." He saw the nurse come out of one of the rooms. He hurried toward her. "Nancy, stop. I'm a police officer. I know you recognized me." When he got to her, he asked in a soft voice. "What did you put in the water, Nancy?"

The woman looked at him in suspicion. "Nothing."

"How did I just know you were going to say that." Horatio asked sarcastically. He turned the woman around, and pulled his handcuffs, putting them on her. "You're under arrest for attempted murder, at least until I can figure out what you put in that water." Turning to Calleigh, he added. "Call Frank and Eric for me and get them up here. Tell Eric, we need a kit, too."

That puzzled Calleigh. "What happened?"

"I'll explain, later." The red head told her. Turning to the surprised Doctor, he added. "Doctor Fitzgerald. I'm going to need someplace to hold her until my Detective gets here. I'll also need a couple of Security officers to keep an eye on her."

The Doctor made a phone call, and two Hospital Security guards showed up very quickly. In the meantime, Doctor Fitzgerald had found a room where the woman could be held without interfering in the hospital rounds.

After awhile Frank and Eric came down the hall from the elevator with two MDPD officers in tow. "What's up, H?" The tall Texan asked.

Realizing how this will affect Calleigh, who is standing beside him, he said simply. "We've just had an attempt made on the life of the kid who was at the robbery last night."

Sure enough, Calleigh went white at the news, and even Eric was shocked by it. "Is the kid ok, H?"

"I believe so, Eric. I'm going to have his doctor check him out, in just a few minutes, but I wanted him processed first."

That got a puzzled look. "Processed. What for?" The young Cuban asked.

"I don't want to influence you, Eric. There is a basin full of water, next to his bed, that has the contaminated water in it. The water had been used, supposedly in an attempt to help treat his raising temperature. I want the water and the boy processed to show that the water was used on him. I'm hoping that it isn't what I'm afraid it might be, so I don't want to say anything that might influence you."

"No problem, H. What room is the kid in?"

Horatio noticed Dr Fitzgerald talking to an African American woman in a grey business suit with a red blouse. He called out. "Excuse me, Dr Fitzgerald?"

The blonde doctor came over with the woman in tow. "Lt, this is Tamika Youngblood. She's with Human Resources. I called her up here to see if this woman actually works for the hospital….."

"And…..?" The red head prompted.

"She does not, Lt. I don't have any idea who this woman may be, but she is in no way part of the staff here." The woman turned back to Doctor Fitzgerald. "Will the patient suffer any adverse affects from this, Doctor?"

Even Fitzgerald was aware of Horatio's reaction to her choice of words. "The patient's name is Stevie Douglas, Ms Youngblood. To answer your question, no, there should not be any adverse affects from the incident. Thank you for your time." The words no more left his mouth than she was headed towards the elevator.

Eric and Frank both shook their heads at the woman, then turned to the red head. "What's the plan, H?" Eric asked.

"Well," The red head thought about it for a moment, his hands coming to rest at their natural places on his hips, the fingers of his right hand subconsciously tapped out a rhythm. "Here's what I want to do. I just want Frank to meet him, at least for right now. Frank, we may need to put the boy, and his mother, in protective custody, if these sorts of incidents continue. Then, I'm going to tell him that you'll need to check him about the water, Eric. Then, once that's done, doctor, I want you to check him, and I will attempt to get him to relax and trust enough for us to be able to treat his temperature."

"How are you going to do that, H?" Frank asked innocently.

"That's where you come in." The red head replied, with a grin. "I'm going to 'let' my legs collapse under me. If you and Eric would be so kind as to catch me, Frank, then when I sit down in the chair, Calleigh, I will 'allow' you to treat me, to show him that there's nothing in the water. I'm hoping that he will be reassured enough that he will let his mother out of his sight, and vice versa, so that Calleigh, you can get her away enough to get something to eat, and to rest her mind a bit. While you two are gone, I will attempt to ask him the questions I originally had come here to ask him."

"Sounds like a plan." Eric agreed, as they all nodded to the red head.

"All right. Follow me." He walked back in to the room to stand on one side of the bed. Frank followed him to stand on the other side of the bed. "Stevie? You still with me, partner."

The boy nodded, as he blinked his eyes open. "Hey, Lt. I thought you had left."

"You can't get rid of me that easily, partner. I have someone I need you to talk to for just a minute, ok?" The red head indicated the other man. "This is Detective Frank Tripp. He works with us, and he has a couple of questions he needs to ask, ok?"

When the boy nodded again, the red head looked over at Tripp. "Stevie, did you know that Nurse at all from earlier?"

"Nope." The boy shook his head. "I'd never seen her before this morning."

"So, she had never helped with your physical therapy or anything?"

"No, sir."

"Ok." The Texan looked at the red head as he asked this next question, and smirked at the red head's raised eyebrows. "Your partner was saying that you were complaining of being sleepy when she would try to cool you off." The boy nodded. "How quickly did you get that feeling after she tried to help you cool off?"

The boy thought on that for a moment, with his eyes closed, and doesn't see the two men share an amused look. "I don't think it was instantly, Detective, but it couldn't have been more that a minute or two before I started feeling sleepy."

"Ok, Stevie. I think I have everything, at least for the time being." The Texan told him. "I do need to have Eric test you to see how much of that water the Nurse used on you. The test is going to be painless, ok?"

"No problem." The boy replied. "Thanks a lot for all your help, Detective Tripp."

"You're more than welcome, Stevie. Get well soon, so we can take you out to get into a little mischief." He winked at the boy as he held his hand out to him.

Stevie's little hand was swallowed up by the Texan's large one, even with the brace on it to protect the IV on the back, as he quickly agreed to the plan. "Sure thing, Detective. A little mischief never hurt anybody."

The adults laughed as Eric traded places with Frank. "Hey, there, Stevie. Do you remember me?"

The boy nodded. "Sure. How's it going, Mister Eric?"

"Not too bad." Eric replied. As he held up the swab, he explained. "I'm just going to run this over your skin, ok?"

Stevie nodded as he closed his eyes.

As he swabbed the boy's upper chest and face, Eric asked. "Hey, H. When did they do the EKG?"

Stevie's eyes opened. "H?"

The older man quirked a grin. "Yes, Stevie. That's my nickname. It's short for Horatio, my full first name."

Well now, that's an unusual one if ever I've heard it. The boy thought to himself. "As in the author, or Shakespeare?"

Now it's Horatio's turn to be surprised. "The author. My Mom loved to read in general, and she really liked that author, specifically."

"I understand what you mean." Stevie got a faraway look for just a minute. "I can always get lost in a good book." Turning to Eric, he added. "To answer your question, Mister Eric, they were doing the EKG this morning. I developed an infection from where some of the glass cut me last night and it caught up with me."

"That was fast." Eric remarked."Not especially, Mister Eric." Stevie disagreed. "Doctor Fitz says that it's because my immune system is down to nothing because of what happened, that the infection was able to run so much out of control."

The grownups all nodded at that explanation, as Eric packed things away. "Ok, H. I think I have everything. I'll run it to the lab and get started ASAP."

"Ok, Eric." The red head moved to turn away from the bed. "Let's step out…….." Suddenly, he grabbed the railing of the bed, as the world slowly tilted just off of center. "Whoa." He commented softly, under his breath.

"H!!" Eric noticed when the man grabbed for the railing. "Frank, Calleigh, grab him."

Frank and Calleigh got to him, at just about the same time, and maneuvered him to a chair. "Horatio?" Calleigh asked as she opened the second button of his shirt.

"I'm ok, Calleigh." He told her with what he hoped was a confident smile.

"Sure you are." Calleigh remarked sarcastically, partially under her breath, and she put the back of her hand first on his cheek, then across his forehead. "I don't know, you feel a little warm to me." She looked at him. "What happened?"

"It's hot outside, Calleigh." He replied. "The heat just got to me." The light twinkled behind his eyes, and he hoped to be able to say this with a straight face. "Besides, I was under the impression you and several of the other ladies at the lab had always thought I was a little hot." He winked at her, then chuckled when she blushed, right on queue.

"We've been in here for awhile, so you shouldn't be suffering the effects of the heat outside, especially since you never feel the heat anyway." She argued the point, then added. "Did you breath in the scent from that water?"

"He came over and smelled it, just before you came in, Aunt Calleigh." Stevie told her.

"Stevie, that shouldn't have been enough to do this." Horatio pointed out, then turned to Calleigh. "Come on, Calleigh, I know enough not to take a deep breath of something, just for this very reason. I may not know a lot, but I do know that much, at least."

Doctor Fitzgerald and a nurse walked in at that moment. "What happened?" He looked from person to person.

Calleigh looked up at the Doctor. "We're not sure, Doctor. He's seems to be fine now." Turning to the nurse, she added. "Would you please get me a clean washcloth?"

The nurse looked over at Fitzgerald, who nodded. As the nurse turned to get the item, Calleigh stood back up. "Eric, did you get shots of the basin with the water in it?"

He nodded. "I sure did, Calleigh."

"Ok, I'm going to empty it." She took the basin into the bathroom and emptied the water, then put it into a plastic bag. As she handed it to the Cuban young man, Calleigh added. "Be careful with it, Eric."

"Don't worry, Calleigh, I've got it." The younger man tried to reassure her.

"Ok."

The nurse walked back in at that moment, and Calleigh took the wash cloth from her and walked back into the bathroom. They all heard water running for a moment, then it turned off. After a minute, she walked back into the room. She walked up to the red head and said. "Close your eyes for a minute."

At first he looked up at her, critically, then moved his arms out, away from his body, and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

"This is going to be a bit cold." She forewarned him as she spread the cloth on to her hand.

He mumbled. "Ok."When she put the cloth and her hand to his face, he took a sharp, involuntary breath in. "You weren't kidding about that being cold."

"Sorry about that." Calleigh replied. She wordlessly bathed his face, down his neck, and across his chest, as far as his dress shirt and suit jacket would allow. When she moved back up to his face and neck, she asked. "Feeling better? Hopefully more awake?"

He's aware of her scrutiny as she brought the cloth across his shoulders. When she tried to move it down, across his chest again, he grabbed her wrists, stopping her. She looked at him confused. "I'm fine, Calleigh, thank you." Horatio told her, knowing that if she pushed, he wouldn't be able to stop her from seeing his childhood written over his shoulders and down his back.

She nodded as she stood. "You're more than welcome."

As she walked the cloth back into the bathroom, he tentatively stood. When he doesn't wobble, he walked back over to the other side of the bed. "I'm going to step out for just a minute, partner, but I'm going to be right back, ok?"

"No problem, H." The boy replied. "Just please do me a favor and come back? I have a small favor I need to ask."

That puzzled Horatio. "Sure." He told the boy quickly. "I'll be right back." He escorted Calleigh, Eric, and Tripp out to the hallway.

"I'm going to take that woman back to Police HQ and we'll run her, see what happens. We'll be waiting for you there when you get the results back from those tests." Frank begins.

"And I will do my level best to have those results for you by the time you get back, H." Eric added his two cents worth.

"Thank you, gentlemen. I do appreciate it."